OVA 3 Redux
by Usurperone
Summary: This is the continuation of the story following the events from In the Cold, Two Hearts Find Warmth Version 2018 and is my interpretation of what a better OVA 3 (and parts of 4) could have been instead of the monstrosities that we got. Enjoy and please review.
1. An Uninvited Guest

_Okay, after a few months hiatus in real time, here is the start of the next part of the story, following my previous work,_ _In the Cold, Two Hearts Find Warmth Version 2018._ _This is my effort to fix what was broken by OVAs 3 and 4. Along with original content, some familiar events will occur, some will be radically changed, and the rest will be deleted, burned, nuked from existence and never thought of again... I'm hoping to provide you all with a better story with better characterizations (at least that's what I'm shooting for) One thing I will promise you: our beloved characters will not be sacrificing their core beings in lame attempts at misplaced humor (If you have seen OVA 3 you know exactly what I'm talking about) All in all I want the characters to be true to themselves even as they mature. I want the story to reward the fans and most of all, I want it to be a whopping good tale that does right by the OVA Tenchiverse_

 _As always I would appreciate your input (a.k.a: reviews) so I'll know if this is living up to my hoped for expectations. But most importantly, I hope you all enjoy it._

 _Usurperone_

OVA 3 Redux

Chapter 1: _An Uninvited Guest_

He looked almost human.

He could have passed for just another offshoot of humanity spread throughout the many galaxies except for his face: That gave away his 'alien' nature. On his forehead were purple protrusions; two small stones, one above each eye like a secondary eyebrow of amethyst crystal and two larger stones set above his left eye. No doubt these were vestigial remains of his original mineral based life-form.

These physical differences paled in the comparison to the effect of anyone seeing his eyes for the first time, provided of course, that they lived long enough to actually do so. His right eye seemed somewhat normal enough save for the completely golden pupil with a total absence of an iris. The left eye, however, was the more disconcerting of the two: It was nearly all purple; the pupil and the sclera both matched the color of the gems on his forehead with his iris such a deep purple to appear almost black. The resulting purple orb would dominate one's attention. These eyes reflected the enigmatic nature of their owner.

Right now that enigma was lying on his bed, but he wasn't asleep. He never could sleep afterwards.

 _They didn't stand a chance,_ he thought letting out a small sigh. _None ever do. And yet they all try. They always attack because they sense the power here and it scares them. It should. It would have scared me… back before. Now nothing frightens me._

He again thought about the scene that almost constantly flashed through his mind; the image of a boy emerging from the event horizon of a singularity, accompanied by two not unattractive females, propelled by the Wings of the Light Hawk.

 _Masaki doesn't frighten me… but he does intrigue me. Yeah, he can use the Light Hawk Wings but only three of them. But does that make him a rival to be dealt with or a potential ally to be enlisted? Is he worthy of this power, perhaps even more than me?_

He shook his head. _I doubt he's had to go through the hell I've endured to gain his power. Maybe's he's simply just some pretender… and yet… there's something there… I just don't know what…_

He sat up in bed. _The kid's one big question mark,_ ironically thought the enigma. _Even Tokimi doesn't know the answers and that's impressive in itself,_ he thought, causing a half smile. _At the very least it does makes him interesting._

He swung his legs over the side edge of the bed. _She warned me not to harm him but she never said anything about me watching him._

He smile broadened to reach his eyes as he decided.

 _I think I'll be taking a little break for a while._

* * *

The _Mikagami,_ was the stuff of dreams to some; for others, mainly pirates, it was the embodiment of a living nightmare. As a Second Generation Royal Treeship, she was indeed a powerful adversary in combat, able to easily defeat a fleet of pirate ships. Her true strength, however, lay in her commander; the Queen Mother, Seto Kimiki Jurai, otherwise known as the 'Devil Princess of Jurai,' a moniker that both secretly amused her and was well deserved.

Today, the 'Devil Princess' was not involved in anti-pirate operations, but was more interested in strategy of a different nature. This strategy involved the newly 'discovered' whereabouts of Crown Prince Yosho and more precisely, his apprentice, grandson, and, most importantly, heir, young Tenchi Masaki. Seto had known the facts concerning Yosho's disappearance, and had even visited Earth when Tenchi was a baby. What she, as well as the other members of the Jurai Security Council had recently learned about the Masaki household had given them all pause for concern; within that one house, in the simple, serene Okayama Prefecture countryside, lived a formidable alliance of independent galactic military power. So incredibly strong were they that, even with their many ties to Jurai, they could pose a grave threat to the empire, should they ever choose to turn against it.

The Council had deliberated long and hard on the situation, and it had been decided that it would be best, due to her familial ties, if Lady Seto was given the responsibility of keeping an eye out on the household, located on that colony world at the very edge of Juraian claimed territory. Giving in to her tendency to perform her enjoyable (to her anyway) role as matchmaker, Lady Seto had designs to establish a physical presence in the Masaki household by 'arranging' a betrothal between Tenchi and her adopted daughter Noike. Recent events, however, had quashed that plan. Seto was sitting in one of the many gardens in the subspace habitation portion of the _Mikagami_ with her assistant Minaho Masaki and Noike, to discuss the situation.

"Your nephew has scuttled our initial plan by becoming engaged to that most infamous pirate of all, Ryoko Hakubi," she directed to her adjutant, not hiding the irony of the situation. "I learned it from Funaho when she returned from Earth, accompanied by Aeka."

"So I too heard, but from Misaki," Minaho confirmed. Secretly she had been quite pleased by the recent turn of events, happy that her late sister's only son had escaped Seto's grasp. "She seems very fond of Ryoko and was all smiles about it. I admit I was surprised with Tenchi's choice, but after all, he is his mother's son," she added with a chuckle.

Almost reluctantly, Seto let out her own chuckle. "To that there can be no doubt," she admitted. "Aeka has told me that Ryoko is no longer the demon she once was, that she has changed greatly since gaining her freedom from Kagato. It seems that my granddaughter and the pirate have become quite close, as well. Even with their friendship, I suspect however, that there was much tension and sorrow on Aeka's part when the engagement was announced," she offered, her face reflecting her compassion for her granddaughter's feelings. "Be that as it may, the relationship between Tenchi and Ryoko will not permit even the illusion of another choice of fiancée. So that option is now off the table."

"Is it?" inquired Noike. The two other women looked at her. She continued, "He is, after all, Juraian, and multiple spouses are quite common."

To this, Seto brought up the fan she held in her hand, opening it to hide her face below her eyes and laughed aloud. "That is an impossibility," she assured her daughter. "Ryoko may have changed, but at her core she will always be a pirate, and pirates never easily give up what they believe is theirs. And, as you know, Ryoko was no ordinary pirate, my dear." She lowered her fan, showing her now serious expression. "Remember, I saw what she was capable of, 700 years ago, when, with Ryo-Ohki, she either ignored or destroyed any ship less powerful than a Second Generation. And that was when she was acting against her will. Now imagine what you think she would do to anyone she thought was trying to take Tenchi away from her. That would never end well for us in any event; I'd either lose a daughter, or it would turn Tenchi against us, or both." She shook her head. "No, Noike, that way into the Masaki household is no longer open to us." Then, a rather evil looking smirk appeared upon her face. "There is, however, another way," she said, "but you're not going to like it." She brought the fan up again to hide her face and laughed _almost_ maniacally making her companions wince.

Suddenly Noike experienced an all-too-familiar feeling of dread...

* * *

Sasami was in the kitchen, in the final stages of breakfast preparation, aided by her older sister. This now familiar sight was due to the younger princess agreeing to teach both Aeka and Ryoko in the art of cooking, which had begun upon her sister's return from Jurai a few months back. After many ruined meals and not too many fires and explosions, the diminutive chef had made significant progress in instructing her two 'big sisters' as she liked to think of them. It had been decided that Aeka would assist with breakfast, Ryoko with lunch, and both would help her with dinner. The shift assignments had been made out of practicality, accepting the reality that Ryoko never was, is not now, and never would be a morning person. The leopard and its spots analogy fully applied here to the feline eyed pirate. Some naysayer's (mainly the elder princess) doubted that she would even be able to be up in time to help with lunch, but in that Ryoko surprised everyone (not the least of which was herself) and became a dutiful, if sometimes destructive student of the culinary arts.

Now the two princesses brought out the final dishes for the meal, finding some members, such as an adult Washu and Katsuhito, already seated, while still others continued to arrive. "Good morning," Mihoshi yawned sleepily as she made her way down the stairs. "Morning," replied Sasami as she set down her last serving bowl. Those at the table soon heard the front door open and close, announcing Tenchi's return from the carrot fields. In a moment, he emerged from the front hallway door, Ryo-Ohki in cabbit form on his left shoulder, and greeted all present. As the two approached, the adorable ball of fur quickly hopped down, transforming into her child persona in mid-air, landing nimbly and took her place at the table, next to Sasami's and near that of her sister/partner who was yet to arrive. Just before he was about to sit, Tenchi heard a familiar whoosh of air to his left, and then felt a pair of warm soft lips kiss his cheek.

"Hello my Tenchi," said his fiancée sweetly, who also took his arm in a quick hug. He smiled back to her in greeting. Then she turned toward the table smiling as she sat with him, saying, "Morning everyone."

"Someone's in a good mood today," said her red headed mother at the other end of the table.

"And why wouldn't I be?" Ryoko replied, maintaining her smile. "For one thing, I have this yummy breakfast to look forward to, it's a beautiful sunny spring day, and oh yeah…," she paused, "there's this guy over here." She picked up her teacup and took a sip, with a cheeky grin. She quickly glanced over at Aeka, quietly noting that her comments appeared to have had no ill effect on her best friend. Although she believed that the princess had accepted her relationship and subsequent engagement to Tenchi, the last thing she wanted to do was cause her pain.

"Just a guy, eh?" Tenchi asked in mock annoyance.

"Mmm… You'll do," she replied, the grin still on her face, then took another sip.

He smiled back, slowly shaking his head.

After taking a bite he commented to Sasami, "Ryoko is right about breakfast, it's delicious. You and Aeka have both done a great job." Before his cyan haired fiancée could say anything he added, "Sasami, you and Ryoko do a terrific job with lunch too and all three of you do with dinner. I, for one, am really happy with how you guys handle the meals. And I'm sure we all really appreciate you taking the time to teach them cooking."

There were nods and verbal agreements from all around as well as a jovial "Miyow!" from Ryo-Ohki. Sasami slightly blushed at all the compliments as she replied, "Thank you, Tenchi… everybody. I've had a lot of fun teaching them…" She giggled, "Well mostly."

"She does have the patience of a saint," claimed Aeka. "One would have to, when a particular 'student' could start a conflagration at any time." She smirked and decidedly did not look at the former space pirate.

"Hey, that only happened once… er, twice," Ryoko corrected. Then, with a defiant look on her face, fired back: "It could have happened to anybody." Then her own slightly evil smirk appeared as she asked, "And how many meals did a certain snooty princess mess up with food that was burnt on one side and frozen on the other? Hmmmm?"

Aeka's smirk disappeared and she glared back at her accuser, but didn't say a word.

Ryoko continued the verbal counterattack, "How'd you do that, by the way? I mean one side was charcoal and the other frozen solid, like a glacier. And there was no transition between the two sides; just the two extremes. How'd you pull off that little trick?"

" _That's a pretty decent scientific observation, my dear_ ," Ryoko heard through her mental link with Washu. _I do have a theory about that…"_

" _Yeah I'm sure you do, mom,"_ she interrupted sarcastically back through the link.

" _Hey! I just gave you a compliment and you have to go and be rude to me. Such an ungrateful child."_

" _Totally my creator's fault, Washu. Definite design flaw or maybe she ran out of niceness genes. Either way, it's all on her. Just comes down to bad science."_

She heard a distinctive _"Hmph"_ right before the link went silent and she noted a rather dirty look cast her way from the other end of the table. Ryoko smiled in silent victory.

Tenchi, eternally the peacemaker, and unaware of Ryoko's mental conversation with her mother, stepped in at this point. Speaking at first to Sasami's chefs-in-training, he said, "Well you both have gotten a lot better over the last few months so I'm glad we don't have to worry about such things anymore." Then turning his face to the little princess, he said, "Like I said before, Sasami, we all really appreciate everything you do."

His words had the desired effect as both the culinary 'students' appeared to relax and smile towards their little cooking mentor.

Sasami looked back at Tenchi, smiling at both his complement and for the way he quickly defused the situation. Relative calm settled on the meal, and they preceded through it much like always, with the occasional banter flavoring the breakfast. Near the end of the meal, Sasami decided to inquire about something that had concerned her for the past few days, but hadn't had the opportunity to bring it up. "Tenchi, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

He looked back at her and replied, "No, of course I don't mind. What's your question?"

"The other day I was out in the shed getting a few carrots for dinner. You and Ryoko were walking by having what sounded like a very happy conversation. I didn't want to be rude and interrupt, but I heard you say something that troubled me, and I was wondering: Did you guys get into a fight with a bunch of people recently?"

Tenchi and Ryoko both responded to the question, first by looking at each other, then at Sasami with befuddled expressions. "No, not that I remember," he replied at the offhand question. "Why do you ask?"

"Well you said to Ryoko that the previous night you had been outnumbered by the Dopple Gang… but she said you 'managed to hold your own' or something like that."

Tenchi's eyes went as big as saucers, his mouth slightly agape, while Ryoko looked away, continuing her eating, as her cheeks turned an increasing shade of pink. Both had the look of being caught with their arms filled with many illicit cookies in front of a very empty and broken jar.

At the opposite end of the table Washu stopped eating, stared at them for a couple of seconds and began sporting a very, very wicked smile. Katsuhito, sitting to her left, viewed the betrothed couple with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin. Aeka, next to her sister, and seeing the guilty reactions of her engaged friends, first looked at Tenchi, then at Ryoko with squinting eyes and pursed lips. She suspected that what Sasami had heard she probably shouldn't have and whatever was going on, it was undoubtedly Ryoko's fault. Mihoshi, blissfully unaware at per her usual, kept eating.

Sasami continued, "I was a little worried so I looked out the door as you both were walking away and I noticed, Tenchi, that you were limping a bit. Did the Dopple Gang do that to you?" she asked innocently.

"Uhhhh…" was all Tenchi could manage to say as he too pinkened. Ryoko's cheeks turned a deep red as she quickly set down her bowl and chopsticks, giving up the pretense of eating.

Raucous laughter suddenly poured forth from Washu, her peals so hard tears immediately began streaming down her cheeks. Much to Tenchi's horror, his normally serene grandfather was also laughing… out loud. Although barely more than a chuckle, Katsuhito's show of levity was somewhat more unsettling, due mainly to its rarity. Ryoko, her head turned to the side away from Tenchi, with closed eyes and gritted teeth, along with her now very red face, blindly reached back to her fiancé, grabbed the front of his shirt and immediately disappeared with him with a resounding whoosh of air.

This did nothing to alleviate Washu's laughter which was now near howling. Katsuhito had recovered some of his normal composure, but still had the hint of a smile.

Sasami's face was one of wide eyed confusion for a minute, her sister silently fuming at her side. The little princess looked at Washu, who had finally regained control, and queried, "Did I ask bad questions?"

"No Sasami," the chuckling scientist answered. "Your questions were perfect!"

* * *

Ryoko and Tenchi appeared on the outcropping above the cave. She released his shirt, took two steps away, and let loose with a blistering series of swear words all directed towards her mother.

 _Yep, she's definitely a pirate_ he thought, his ears as red as her cheeks from the very unladylike words pouring forth from his beloved fiancée's lips.

After a minute of non-stop cuss words, some of which Tenchi didn't recognize, Ryoko finally ended her scandalous soliloquy with a LOUD declaration; "Washu, you are DEAD MEAT!"

"I don't think she can hear you," he said with a pained grin.

She turned to him, her angry countenance making the little hairs on his neck stand up, and replied, "Oh yes she can. I hear her still laughing in our link."

"Oh." He had forgotten about that for the moment.

He summoned his courage, stepped forward, taking her shoulders in his hands and looked into her golden eyes. He gave her his best disarming smile, which in spite of herself, did reduce the storm winds in her sails a bit. "You can't kill her; If you do you'll make yourself an orphan," he quipped.

"You know, that might not be such a bad life choice right about now," she growled, with a slight disgusted look.

He chuckled and shook his head.

Ryoko's shoulders slumped and she looked back at him, offering one last plea; "Come on Tenchi, would it be so bad if I just killed her a little?"

"Sorry. We earthlings rather frown on matricide," he informed her, still smiling.

Ryoko looked at him and then surrendered with a heavy sigh. "Fine. I'll let the witch live." Then she quickly added, "But I'm not talking to her again until I get an apology."

"Okay," he chuckled. "That's fair." He bought her to him and hugged her. She relaxed in his arms.

"One thing I don't get about what just happened," he wondered to her aloud as he stepped back. "I understand how Washu would know about your doppelganger, but Grandpa seemed to know about her as well…"

"Well that's easy," she replied. "He's seen her before. So he obviously put two and two together."

"He's seen her?" he asked, somewhat incredulously.

She nodded. "When we fought 700 years ago I had to pull out all my tricks to try to beat him. At one point I used her to surprise him and it worked for a while, but I couldn't maintain her long enough. I definitely got in my licks, but, in the end, he was too strong for me and I lost." She smiled at him, adding, "But I'm glad I did, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Me too," he said. He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Noting the relative calmness of his companion now, Tenchi felt at ease to change the subject. "We should really get back to the house, though." he suggested. "Grampa will be finishing his breakfast soon and he'll be expecting us and I still need to get dressed for training. Unlike you I can't instantly change clothes."

"Alright," she chuckled. "Hold on." She took both of his hands in hers and then they ported away with a whoosh.

A hidden figure, now safe from detection, freely moved among the branches of a leafed out tree, yet still remained in the shadows.

"Training eh?" the figure asked quietly. "How fortunate for me."


	2. Crossed Swords and Discoveries

Chapter 2: _Crossed Swords and Discoveries_

Tenchi and Ryoko arrived at the training area, dressed for the occasion: he, in his normal practice garb and she, in her black and red battle suit. Katsuhito awaited them, a brand new bokken in each hand. On the side, sitting on a pillow behind her near transparent computer screen, floating about 5 feet off the ground, was Washu, now in her child form. Ryoko gave her pint sized mother a quick glare receiving a nonchalant smile in return. She quickly averted her eyes, focusing her gaze back on the priest. Tenchi caught the non-verbal exchange between the two women and wisely decided to act as though he didn't. The two trainees walked up to their sensei who handed each a weapon.

"Practice today will be a sparring duel between you two. There will be no warm-up period and we will begin shortly," stated Katsuhito. His face betrayed no emotion as he gave them his instructions. "You will wear nothing other than what you are wearing now; no protective gear. As no head strikes are allowed it will not be necessary. The match ends when I judge a telling blow has been struck. Do you both understand?"

"This seems a bit more serious than normal, Grandpa," offered Tenchi. "No warm-up exercises, no protective gear…I imagine you have a good reason for it?"

"Yes, Tenchi, it is more serious than what you have been doing, and yes, there is a reason for it," his grandfather replied. "In a life or death struggle, an opponent seldom permits sufficient preparation time." Offering no further explanation, he directed, "Please take you place on the field." He turned toward his female trainee. "Ryoko, I'd like a word with you before we begin." Tenchi, with a somewhat confused and concerned expression walked onto the practice area. Katsuhito spoke quietly with his grandson's fiancée for roughly a minute. As his grandfather appeared to be finishing, he saw her eyes widen, and heard her ask him a question in a surprised tone, "Are you sure?" In reply he saw the senior Masaki close his eyes and nod. "And you really think that will work?" she asked. Tenchi saw him repeat his previous gesture. Ryoko frowned and answered halfheartedly, "Okay." She turned away from Katsuhito and took her place facing Tenchi, the bokken held firmly in her right hand but down at her side. He saw a troubled look in her golden-amber eyes.

"Just remember, my Tenchi," she said, adding a slight smile, "that I love you." With this she brought her weapon into the ready position, the troubled look in her eyes replaced with one of concentration and determination, her smile fading. Recognizing her battle stance, he too readied his weapon and looked back at her with matched intensity.

Katsuhito held up his right hand and said, "Ready." A moment later he dropped his arm saying, "Begin!"

Then Ryoko disappeared.

This startled Tenchi: _What's going on? Where's she…_ Suddenly he heard the telltale sign of her phasing in directly behind him and slightly above. He barely had time to raise his bokken above his head and behind in defense as her strike aimed for his back. As he blocked, he rolled away, spinning to his left to come up facing her. Her strike would have certainly stung had it connected, though it would not have done any damage save a bruise.

He looked at her, more than slightly annoyed and asked, "Ryoko, what are you doing using your powers?"

She paused looking back at him with a somewhat pained expression, then shaking her head, replied, "Not my idea."

He looked over to his grandfather, slightly aghast. Katsuhito was standing there, his hands folded behind his back, stoic as ever. The priest spoke, "Ryoko, you're blow was too weak. Strike harder." His expression didn't change. "Continue."

Tenchi looked back at his beloved, who was facing away from Katsuhito. He saw her mouth the word, _Sorry_. Her gaze again steeled and she continued her assault, her attacks twice as strong as before. Her barrage was unceasing: She would strike, feint, strike again, port to another location, strike from above, strike from either side, and even, at times, disappearing and strike at him from below as she phased up through the ground. Some of these got past his defenses, inflicting glancing blows on his back, his arms, his legs, even his hands and feet. Finally, winded from her onslaught, she caught him off balance, and struck his bokken at such an angle and with such force that it broke in two.

He stared at the broken weapon for just a second before he threw it to the ground. That was all the time he was allowed as she was again on him: Ryoko was coming in for the duel-ending blow.

She saw him raise his hands, and as her weapon descended upon him, he spoke one word: "No."

The bokken shattered in her hand as it connected with a white translucent blade, one of three between them, hovering and stationary. On his forehead, she saw Tenchi's emblem of power aglow. The last time she saw it, his face was stern and resolute, right before defeating Kagato. His face now was calm, and reminded her more of Yosho's usual serene expression.

She dropped the remains of her weapon and smiled broadly at him, thankful that the duel was finally over. He recognized her relief, returned the smile and then letting out a small breath, dispelled the wings along with his power symbol. She flew over and glomped onto him, her arms around his neck.

"Ow," was his solo verbal response as he winced in pain.

Ryoko looked at him, her eyes filled with apology, "I'm so sorry." She gently released him and touched his cheek. She then pointed accusingly at his grandfather, and with furrowed eyebrows, said, "He made me do it." This elicited the raising of one eyebrow by Katsuhito along with the barest hint of a smirk. Grudgingly, however, she admitted, "But he was right."

"About what?" Tenchi asked.

She sighed. "He said that if I came at you the way I did, doing my best to overwhelm you, you'd eventually bring them out."

"The Light Hawk Wings?" he asked.

She nodded.

"But I didn't bring them out, they just appeared all on their own, like always," he reasoned.

"You're wrong, Tenchi," said Washu, who had approached them unnoticed. "You called them."

Ryoko frowned at her mother's proximity. "I really hate to admit it, but the little troll is right. _You_ made them happen this time."

Ignoring her daughter's insult, the petite scientist made her computer screen appear before them. "Here, see for yourself." She hit a button and the scene played out before them; Tenchi raising his hands, saying the one word, the wings instantly appearing, and Ryoko's bokken splintering. The picture froze at that point.

Tenchi stared at it, at himself and his expression. "Huh," was his initial reaction.

He turned to Washu and asked, "How do I know it wasn't a fluke?"

"Simple," replied his grandfather who had just joined them. "Do it again."

"Do it again? How? I don't even know what I did," he insisted.

"Tenchi, look at the picture, again," advised Washu. "What were you feeling then?"

He thought about it for a moment, and then answered, "Honestly, I wasn't feeling much of anything. I wasn't scared like I had been those other times before. I just didn't want her to hit me again." He smiled weakly at his fiancée. "She hits hard."

Ryoko grimaced. Tenchi took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"So you just decided you wouldn't be hit again, is that it?" Washu asked.

"Yeah, I guess it is," he agreed.

"Then decide to bring them out again, just because you will it so," advised his grandfather. He motioned them all to back up, to give Tenchi enough room.

Tenchi took a calming breath, then tried to remember the feeling he had before, when he had simply willed there existence. He remembered the feeling and wondered how long it would take him to make them re-appear when he noticed that they were already there, again before him. The light they gave off was bright but yet not glaring.

"Very good Tenchi," Katsuhito praised. "Now manipulate them. Make then move the same way you made them appear. Will them to move."

And Tenchi did. He found it easier than he would have ever thought. He made them move left, right, up, and down. He made them spin like a pinwheel. He made them expand to twice their original size and contract to half of it. After a while of further manipulation, however, fatigue and soreness began to overwhelm him. He finally dispelled the wings once again.

He looked at his companions, saying, "It does take a bit out of you."

"I imagine you should heal up pretty quickly though, taking only a few hours what would take a normal human days," informed Washu.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "After the fight with Kagato I was really sore for a few days."

"You were?" asked a concerned Ryoko. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because," he explained, "everybody would have made a fuss about it, especially these two girls that I knew..." He gave her a tired but full grin.

She... looked at the trees, at a couple of flowers, at the sky... anywhere but directly at him. She knew he would have been right, but she would never admit it...

Her mother chuckled. "Well that makes sense, Tenchi. That was a very traumatic battle for you, both mentally and physically, and it was the first time you used your powers. I suspect that the your body has to get used to using the power, but the power has to get use to you as well. Like everything else, skills get better with practice. Perhaps someday, you'll heal so quickly you'll never even realize you were ever hurt. Who knows?"

"Yeah, well, even with all that mumbo-jumbo, what you really need right now is a good soak in the bath and a massage," said Ryoko.

"You know," Tenchi admitted with a tired smile, "that idea doesn't sound half bad."

"Good," she said, smiling back, as she took hold of his arm. "Let's go." She vanished with him before any possible objections could be made… by anyone.

"And I guess we're done," joked Washu, shaking her head. "That girl..."

"I think it's safe to leave him to her caring ministrations, not that he ever had much of a choice," Katsuhito quipped.

"Well, if she hasn't broken him yet, I imagine she never will." Washu looked at her companion and, with a raised eyebrow, asked, "So are you busy today?"

"Nothing planned until after lunch," he replied, smiling gently. "Why do you ask?"

"Because this lady could sure use a nice cup of tea about now," she answered, with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her lips.

The priest offered her his arm. She changed to her adult form as she took it, where upon he too revealed his true younger looking self. They headed off together towards the shrine steps in the distance.

Alone at last, the figure materialized at the spot of the previous gathering. His arms crossed, he looked around, a concerned expression on his face. _Looks like the stakes have gone up,_ he thought. _Masaki can now bring up his Light Hawk Wings on command and he seemed most adept at manipulating them. Still though, there are only three. But for how long?_

He kicked at the dirt below his feet. _I might not have a lot of time to act against him if that's what I'll need to do, but I have to make sure first. I've got to know more about him and about his life. And I need to know more about that woman of his, too. There's something strangely familiar about her, even though I've never laid my eyes on her before._

 _And Washu... why doesn't she just come out and tell him everything he needs to know? It's almost like she doesn't know that she knows..._

 _Too many unknowns here,_ he admitted to himself. _I have to figure out what they are and to do that I'll need to find a way in…_

* * *

Two hours after the 'duel', Aeka was walking down the stairs with a basket filled with her and Sasami's laundry. Reaching the bottom and turning the corner, she almost ran straight into Tenchi and Ryoko, headed towards the front door, coming from the kitchen.

"Sorry Aeka," Tenchi apologized. "We didn't notice you coming down."

"No harm done," she said, smiling. "Where are you two going in such a hurry?"

"Dad invited us to his office for lunch today," he informed her. "He called earlier and said he had something important to tell us."

"Yeah it's all some big mystery," scoffed Ryoko. "Knowing Nobuyuki, he's probably being over dramatic about whatever it is."

"Oh? And you have no idea, at all, what it is?" Aeka asked Tenchi.

"Nope, not a clue," he answered.

Then she looked at her golden-eyed friend with a raised eyebrow, "And you. What about your lunch responsibilities?"

Ryoko held up a hand. "Easy there princess. We made a deal with Sasami," she informed her purple haired interrogator. "She excused me from my lunch duty today as long as we went shopping for her while we were in town." Ryoko held up the shopping list with her other hand. "Any more questions your highness or are we free to go?" she asked, overemphasizing her smirk.

The princess rolled her eyes. "Somehow you always find a way to avoid work."

"Just lucky I guess," her friend replied, the smirk still present.

Surrendering the point to Ryoko with a chuckle, she offered, "Okay, okay. Well anyway I do hope you have fun and oh, give Rea my regards, would you?

"We'll make sure to do both," Tenchi promised as he turned and moved again towards the door.

"Later," said the pirate as she followed.

Aeka watched them leave, unwittingly staring at them for a moment when Ryoko took Tenchi's arm, a hint of longing briefly surfacing on her face. She caught herself, turned away from them, closed her eyes and shook her head in an effort to remove the feeling. She opened her eyes, let out a silent breath, accompanied by a slight smile of acceptance, then continued on her way, past the stairs, carrying her basket.

The figure in the shadows, having seen the exchange, quietly pondered the implications. After a while he slowly nodded his head and began to smile. _I may have just found what I was looking for._ His expression soon changed, reflecting concentration as he began to plan ahead: _One_ _thing's for certain,_ he thought as he began to vanish. _I've got some crash studying to do._

* * *

Tenchi and Ryoko a while later were walking together sharing an umbrella, due to a sudden appearance of a Spring shower. The rain was relatively light but steady. As the weather had approached, Ryoko had popped back over to the house, and taking advantage of the opportunity, grabbed only one umbrella; the one just large enough to share. She had handed it to him, almost nonchalantly, save for the giveaway grin. Now they walked together, his left arm around her shoulders, the other holding the umbrella. Yeah, he didn't mind her playful 'feminine wiles.' Not one bit.

Ryoko, who's head had been snug up next to his as they walked, turned toward him, asking, "How are you feeling Tenchi?" He could see the concern in her eyes.

"A little sore still," he admitted. "But just a little," he said, assuring her with his words and a warm smile. "I'll be fine. The hot bath and your massage did wonders."

"Well, it's the least I could do," she said apologetically, looking down. "I still feel pretty crappy about it." She looked up at him again. "The last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you... in any way." Her golden eyes misted over. "I'm really sorry."

"Ryoko. You don't have to apologize. You were just trying to help me. A bit more painfully than I had hoped, but it worked... and pretty well too." He looked back and with true sincerity said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome I guess..." She shook her head. "It's s little weird you thanking me for beating on you." She scowled slightly. "That Yosho. He's such a taskmaster and a bully sometimes. But, I do have to admit; that old man really knows his stuff."

"Yes he does," Tenchi agreed.

They walked on quietly for the moment, enjoying each other's company. After walking a few more blocks, Tenchi looked at Ryoko and asked, "Are you looking forward to this?"

Ryoko nodded. "It should be fun going to lunch the four of us. It'll be a new experience for me that's for sure. And I'd be lying if I said I'm not curious about you're dad's secret and all..."

Tenchi could almost hear the 'but' that was coming.

"But I just don't know Rea all that well." She looked back at him. "I really do like her, though. She's a nice person, I know that at least. I realized that when you were growing up." She almost immediately recognized her mistake in telling him that, knowing where the conversation would inevitably lead, knowing she would have to answer him honestly and what would be his reaction. She already regretted it.

"I didn't think about that," he admitted. "It makes sense that you remember her from back them. When did you first see her?"

 _I'm so stupid,_ she thought. _I guess I'm just going to go on hurting you today._ She would answer him honestly, but she delayed doing it just the same.

Tenchi saw Ryoko's look down and away from him, hesitating in responding to his question. She stayed silent for some time.

"Ryoko?"

She spoke, just a little louder than a whisper, "It was that day Tenchi. That day... during the snowstorm... when you came to my cave."

She didn't have to say anymore than that; she knew that had been enough.

"Oh... that day," he replied as they stopped walking, his voice almost as low as hers had been. He sighed, understanding what day that was:

It had been the day of his mother's funeral, when all those strangers were there; the day he ran away from it all to end up in his 'safe place,' outside the demon's cave, to where he had always been drawn, as far back as he could remember. He had collapsed on the steps, before the cave entrance, crying, lying in the snow, under-dressed for the weather, getting colder and colder until he had felt a warmth surround him; a warmth that melted the snow beneath him and the snow falling toward him, keeping him safe and dry, while he laid there, mourning his mother.

That was where young Rea had found him, knowing instinctively where he would have gone. She picked up the distraught, but somehow safe, little boy to take him back home. But before leaving with her young charge, she had bowed toward the cave entrance, and said 'thank you.' From that moment on, Ryoko knew that she would always like and respect that girl.

Tenchi looked at his fiancee and knowing her as well as he did, said, "Hey it's okay. Nothing to be sad about." He smiled at her.

She looked up at his encouraging words, with a hint of a potential smile of her own in her eyes. They continued walking.

"I'm glad you like Rea," he said. "She's always been there for me as long as I can remember. She might not be a blood relation, but she's family all the same. After Mom left she's the one who took care of me, much like an older sister would."

"Hmm, if she wasn't family, how'd she end up living there?"

Tenchi's face became pensive. "I don't actually know. She was always there, just a normal part of my life, so much so I never thought to ask."

"So it ended up being just the three of you?"

"Yeah, up until Dad got the new house built. By that time Rea was an adult and moved into her own apartment in town. Although she's been working with Dad as his secretary ever since, I don't get to see her as often as I used to. So I've been looking forward to this since he invited us."

"So am I " she smiled. "And even if you haven't asked me, I promise you I'll be on my best behavior."

He smiled at her voluntary pledge. In truth he hadn't even thought to request it of her. It hadn't seemed necessary... at least not this time.

They continued walking, Ryoko's arm in his. They soon came to the plot of land where his house had once stood. Being there was no accident. Tenchi had chosen this route in a moment of nostalgia spurred on by their earlier conversation.

They stopped in front of the empty plot. He looked on, remembering the first time he had seen it, when his father had brought him and his mother here, to show them where they were going to live. It was both a happy and sad memory. His face was neutral, almost emotionless.

Ryoko, standing there quietly at his side, looked into him with concern, feeling a bit guilty. "I'm sorry," she said.

Tenchi turned his head towards her, puzzled by her words, "Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"For your house being moved," she replied looking down. "It's all my fault. I've caused you so many problems."

At first confused, he soon realized why she had suddenly apologized. He smiled gently at her, saying, "Ryoko, there's no need for you to be sorry, for this." he motioned to the plot of land. "I was thinking about something a long time ago, that's all. To be perfectly honest with you, I prefer the house being where it is now. It's beautiful there with the lake, all the trees, and the flowers. And we're closer to Grampa. I like living out there very much."

He turned back to her. "As for all that other stuff, I gladly accept it all... because that means you're there, with me. And that's what really matters." He kissed her cheek softly, backing away slowly. Before he could 'escape' she turned and planted one directly on his lips.

After her kiss, he looked at Ryoko with raised eyebrows. She looked back at him with her bright golden eyes and her famous grin and explained with one word, "Pirate."

He took on a wry smile and asked, "I thought you were going to be on your best behavior?"

"Well," she informed him, grin still intact, "we're not there yet."

Tenchi chuckled, "No we are not." He looked at his watch. "But we better get going if we don't wanna be late." He grabbed her hand. "C'mon!" he said and led them quickly away.

A few minutes later they had arrived at his father's office. They were no longer huddled under the umbrella as the rain had stopped, at least for the moment. Tenchi held the umbrella as he rang the bell of the _Misaki Design Office._

"Coming!" came from inside.

A pretty dark haired young woman wearing glasses, answered the door.

"Oh! Tenchi! Ryoko! It's so great to see you both again."

"Hello Rea," Tenchi said in greeting.

"I was wondering if the rain was going to slow you down."

"It wasn't a problem," assured Ryoko. "We had an umbrella."

"Just the one?" Rea asked.

Her response was a smile from the cyan haired young woman as she embraced her fiancé's free arm.

"Oh I see," she commented, a knowing smile coming to her face. "Well, just don't stand there you two, come inside."

They entered the office and she seated them in chairs in the reception area.

"Nobuyuki is finishing up a few things and will be just a few minutes," she informed them. "Would you care for some tea or coffee?"

"Tea would be nice, thank you," replied Ryoko.

Rea looked at Tenchi, "You still prefer tea over coffee, am I right?"

"Yes, please," he confirmed, smiling.

She turned and left the room. She quickly returned with two cups of tea, on saucers with sugar and lemon on the side. and set them down.

"So how are Katsuhito and the rest of the girls? Everybody doing okay?

"Yes, everyone's fine, thank you for asking," Tenchi responded.

"Aeka asked us to give you her regards," Ryoko added. "She's hoping to see you again sometime soon."

"I'd like that too," Rea replied. "Nobuyuki told me that both you and Aeka were helping out with the cooking now, is that true?"

Ryoko nodded, "That's right. She normally helps out Sasami with breakfast, me with lunch, and both of us with dinner. The little princess really knows how to cook and she's taught us a lot."

"Did you know that I learned to cook from Tenchi's mother, Kiyone?" Rea asked.

"No I didn't," admitted the amber eyed young woman.

"Yes, even though I've created a few dishes on my own, I still know a lot of the recipe's that she taught me. Perhaps I could come over soon and I could show girls some of them I know that Tenchi liked as he was growing up? There's a particular chicken dish, that was his favorite..."

Ryoko's face was animated. "That would be great!"

Tenchi looked upon the surrealistic scene with an incredulous smile: his fiancée, the Demon Space Pirate Ryoko, once the Scourge of Jurai, feared throughout the galaxy... truly excited at the possibility of learning a chicken dish recipe... And this was his "normal" life.

He looked at his girl and all he could do at that moment was stare and smile. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, and as Rea excused herself to go check on Nobuyuki's progress, she looked back at him. She saw how happy he was; how happy he was with her, and it set her heart to flutter. She responded with her own 'true love' smile for him.

Rea returned with Tenchi's father in tow. "I had to pull him out of there or we'd never go. He's always so focused when he's working on a project."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized, his right hand, scratching behind his head.

Ryoko grinned; she'd seen that same gesture countless times from the younger male Masaki in the room.

The young couple stood up. "So where're we going?" Tenchi asked.

"It's a little restaurant not that far from here, I think you'll like. The food's good and its perfect atmosphere for a conversation." Nobuyuki looked at them, particularly at his son."

"We've got a lot to talk about."


	3. Visitors from Afar

Chapter 3: _Visitors from Afar_

The restaurant they visited turned out to be one of the ramen shops that were becoming so trendy and popular in some of the larger cities such as Tokyo and Nagoya. Unlike the typical ramen stalls so frequently found around the country, this was a sit down establishment, that took orders, and as Nobuyuki had stated, was quite suitable for private conversation. After the waitress had taken their order and departed, Tenchi asked, "So, Dad, what's all this about?"

"Well," his father began, looking a bit flustered, "there's so much i want to tell you... tell both of you, I don't really know where to start." He looked to Rea, who put her hand on his arm and said, "Why don't you start with the house?"

He nodded, turning back toward his son, saying, "Tenchi, there's a reason why I never sold the land where our house use to sit. I'm going to build another house there."

Tenchi, displaying mild surprise, then curiosity, asked his father, "Does that mean we're going to be moving? Ryoko and I passed by the lot today and we talked about how we like living near the shrine..."

"No... no Tenchi," his father reassured him. "You and Ryoko and the rest don't have to move. Everyone is welcome to stay there as long as they like." He paused, and then added, "I'll be moving."

"You'll be moving?" asked Ryoko. "Why Nobuyuki? Did we do anything to make you want to leave?" A little hesitantly she added, "Did anyone?"

He smiled at her. "Ryoko. Don't you think it's about time you started calling me Dad? You are marrying my son after all." He chuckled as Rea, beside him, smiled.

Ryoko at first slightly taken aback, returned his smile with a warm one of her own. "Okay. Dad," she said, her smile broadening. She took Tenchi's hand who was obviously quite happy with this.

Nobuyuki continued, "In answer to your question, no one did anything wrong. This plan has been in the works for some time, but I guess you can say that it's happening now because of you two."

Tenchi looked at Ryoko, who was looking at him with the same concerned expression. He looked back at his father asking, "Because of us?"

"Well, yeah. Um... You see, son... I... uh, we... um..."

Rea, next to him, let out a sigh. "Tenchi." she said. "Your father and I have been seeing each other, outside of work, for a very long time now."

"Seeing each other?" asked the slightly shocked young man. "You mean you two have been... dating?"

Nobuyuki again nodded. "That's right Son. We have."

"How long have you two been seeing each other... Dad?" asked the former space pirate, with a knowing look in her eyes.

"Um, quite a while. Well before all you ladies appeared on the scene."

"That long huh?" she commented. Then with a slightly wicked grin she asked, "So. Exactly how often were you really working, all those time you had to 'stay over' at the office?"

The elder Masaki cleared his throat, while Rea looked to the side, a slight smile matching the slight blush on her cheeks.

Remembering that more than a few times his father's 'late night work sessions' had involved him 'sleeping over at work,' Tenchi looked at him, saying "Dad..."

"What?" his father replied a little too quickly, his face turning red as well.

Ryoko giggled, "It's nice to know what I have to look forward to when Tenchi gets older." She looked at Rea who looked her in the eyes, and with a mischievous glint of her own, gave the younger woman a quick, if slight nod.

"Ryoko!" said her more than slightly shocked fiancé.

"Oh c'mon Tenchi," she chided. "We're all adults here, right?"

"I know," he admitted, "but... it's just a little awkward talking like this with my dad here and all..."

She reached over and touched his cheek. "You're so adorable when you're embarrassed," she said, causing him to blush yet smile nonetheless.

Trying to change the subject as quickly as possible, Nobuyuki said, "Anyway, to make a long story short, when you two became engaged, we got to talking more about it, and well..." He turned and smiled at Rea, who then brought up her left hand. She was wearing a ring not too dissimilar to the one Ryoko was wearing, but unique in its own right.

Their eyes widened at first, Tenchi and Ryoko's expressions changed to broad smiles. "Congratulations!" said the young man, his fiancée nodding beside him.

"I hope good taste in jewelry is another inherited trait," Ryoko wondered as looked at the ring and then turned toward her paramour with a slightly cocked head, mischievous smile, and raised eyebrow. Tenchi looked at her and rolled his eyes, yet kept his smile as he turned back to his father.

"You're okay with this son?" his father asked. "With Rea and me?"

Tenchi smiled at him, "Of course I am, Dad. Why wouldn't I be? Honestly I don't know why I never thought about it before. It all makes such sense that you two would get together. You both been in each other's life for so long, I really shouldn't be that surprised."

He turned to Rea. "You always looked after both of us, after Mom.. left." With a thoughtful expression, he added, "Come to think of it, most of my childhood memories... well... you're in them. You'd do the cooking, make sure I was ready for school, take care of me when I was sick or bruised. Try to cheer me up when I was sad." He paused. "It's been so long since mom... died. So long that besides her face and the feelings I had for her, there's not much else I can recall."

He looked directly into Rea's eyes and said, his voice filled with emotion, "You're the mom I remember..."

Rea reached over the table and placed her hand on Tenchi's, a tear falling on her check, a gentle smile on her lips. "I never tried to replace Kiyone, no one ever could," she explained. "I just did my best to care for you both as I'm sure she would have wanted me to. And I was very happy to do it, because you are my family. You have been since your mother found me and brought me home."

"Tenchi's mom found you?" Ryoko asked.

Rea nodded. "Yes. I woke up lying in a forest when I was a few years younger than you are now. I looked up and saw a pretty lady's face, upside down. She had a very curious expression, looking down at me like she was trying to figure out who or what I was."

Nobuyuki chuckled quietly. "That was Kiyone; always curious."

"I guess she must have liked what she saw because she brought me back to the house and welcomed me into the family." Rea said with a grin.

"And you were very welcome... not that I actually had any say in the matter," Nobuyuki said wryly.

"Wait a moment," interjected Tenchi. "You're saying that Mom simply decided she would live with us and didn't even talk to you about it? Really?"

"Tenchi, I don't think you have a true understanding of your mother's personality," informed his father. "In fact, I'm pretty sure you don't."

A look of consternation touched Tenchi's face. "I know that my mother was sweet and gentle and loving. And that she took care of me. Of us."

"You're right, that was all true," agreed Nobuyuki. "But there was a lot more to her than that. She was also a very confident, strong-willed and determined lady. Once her mind was made up on something, she was resolute. She never hesitated on anything, and would always see something through to the end. From the most trivial thing to the most important. She approached everything in life with the same tenacity, whether it was planting the perfect garden, working for the Galactic Union or even getting married."

Tenchi sat there in stunned silence.

Ryoko spoke up, "You mean she went off planet?"

"For many years." He turned toward his son. "She worked with your grandmother, Airi."

"My grandmother?" he said incredulously. "No. That can't be right. Grandpa told me that she died long before I was born. I asked him a few years ago. He wouldn't lie to me, not about something like that."

His father shook his head. "No Tenchi. Of course he wouldn't lie. But do you remember his words, what he actually told you?"

Tenchi's serious look softened and quickly switched to curiosity. "Now that you mention it, Dad, he put it strangely. He said that his "wife" had died, not that my grandmother had. I wondered about that, at the time, but didn't say anything." He glanced over to Ryoko, who was sharing the same curious if somewhat confused look, then back toward his father, who had a knowing smile.

"That, son, is because his wife, Kasumi... was not your grandmother," he proclaimed, after a somewhat overly dramatic pause.

"She wasn't?" Tenchi finally replied, as the impact of his father's statement hit home.

"No. Like I said, your grandmother's name is Airi. Airi Magma. She's your mother's mother. Your grandfather knew her before he came here. They met when he attended the Galactic Academy, before he ended up on earth. He met Kasumi soon after he arrived and they eventually married. Many years after she passed away, he was reunited with Airi. They had your mother and, eventually, after we married, we had you."

"Wow," Tenchi said with a subdued voice. "So when he said his wife had passed away, he was telling the truth. I guess he just forgot to mention it happened a few centuries ago and that she and I weren't really related," he added with a grin.

"Oh you are most definitely related to her... through me," Nobuyuki informed him. "Everyone in Masaki village is. In one way, or another we are all descendants of your grandfather and Kasumi."

"Why hasn't anyone ever told me this before?" Tenchi asked.

"Because, now it's time," his father answered. "When anyone, comes of age in the village, they are told of their intergalactic roots. This way they can deal with the differences between them and the rest of the world."

"What do you mean by differences, Dad?"

"Most differences are minor, but the main one is that we all live quite a bit longer than other people on this planet and we have to keep it a secret. That, along with our heritage, is why a lot, if not most of us, have spent quite a bit of time off planet. It saves from having to explain why we don't apparently age like our outside acquaintances." He smiled mischievously at his son and asked; "How old do you think I am Tenchi?"

"Honestly, you look like you are in your mid-thirties, Dad."

Nobuyuki shook his head. "Let's just say I'm a 19th century kind of guy for a reason, and leave it at that, okay?"

"Seriously, Dad?" Today was turning out to be one big surprise after another for Tenchi. "Did Mom know how old you were?"

"Of course she knew. You can't hide anything in Masaki village. In fact, she used to tease me about it, quite a bit actually. Always telling me I would take forever to be old enough for her to marry. It probably was one of the reasons she left the planet for a while. Probably not the most important one I wager, but I'm sure it was a factor."

Realization hit Tenchi like a freight train. "You mean to tell me that Mom was older than you?"

His father nodded.

"Just how much older was she?"

"Your mother was born in 1760," he said simply.

Doing the math quickly in his head, Tenchi blurted out, "That means she was over 200 years old?" Realizing he said it a bit on the loud side, he looked about the restaurant, but apparently no one had paid him any mind.

"More like 220 years old," his father said, correcting him.

"Wow Dad…This is all quite a bit to take in, all at once." He thought about it for a few moments and then realizing that his fiancée hadn't spoken for quite some time, he turned and began to ask. "What do you think about thi..." The expression on her face stopped him in mid-sentence. She had a pained look, very much like guilt, on her normally confident face. But what had really stopped him was that fact that she had her eyes averted.

"Ryoko? What's wrong" he asked gently.

"I... met Kasumi, I think… right after I arrived here myself." She sighed, and then continued. "I'm sure it wasn't a very pleasant meeting for her though." She looked to Tenchi with apologetic shining eyes. "Right before Ryo-Ohki crashed, she transported me to the surface. I was wounded from fighting with Yosho, who had already taken two of my gems, but I was still very much Kagato's weapon. I came upon an earth girl, took her hostage, and used her to try to get my jewels back. I couldn't... control myself and had her by the neck demanding he return them. Somehow she got away from me and he and I had our final battle. You already know what happened after that."

She chuckled humorlessly. "Seems, I tried everything I could think of to keep you from being born."

"Well, not only was I born, but it now looks like you'll be stuck with me a lot longer than either of us thought," he replied, jokingly.

"I wondered about that, with Yosho being your grandfather and all. I mean I was hoping..." she said, smiling.

Nobuyuki noticed the waitress returning with their order. "Ah good," he said. "Perfect timing." Looking at Tenchi , he said, "I know you've got a lot to think about now, son and I'm sure they'll be a bunch more questions, particularly about your mom, but why don't we go ahead and enjoy our meal for now. There's a lot more I know that you want to talk about and we will. I promise."

"Okay, Dad," Tenchi agreed. "I've got to wrap my head around everything you've told me just so I can figure out what more to ask." He paused and said, "I definitely want to ask you more about Mom and what happened to her."

After lunch, the two couple stopped outside the door of the restaurant. Nobuyuki asked, "You two headed straight home?"

Ryoko answered with a head shake. "Not yet. We're going to do a little shopping at Sasami's request first before we go back home. It was the price of my temporary reprieve from helping with lunch today." She held up the shopping list Sasami had given her.

Tenchi chuckled. "Don't let her fool you. She might sound like she resents it, and she might have a little bit, at first, but…"

"…but I admit I do like spending time with the junior princess," Ryoko said completing her paramour's sentence, "and I've gotten to be a pretty decent cook, if I do say so myself. The food looks and tastes good, so I'm told," she informed them, giving Tenchi an appreciative smile, "and hardly anything ever gets destroyed anymore," she said half joking.

"Well you two have fun shopping," said Rea. "We're headed back to the office"

"It was great to see you again Rea but I suppose we'll be seeing you much more, now," Tenchi surmised.

"You can count on that," his father promised.

Just as the elder couple turned to leave, Nobuyuki stopped and said, "Oh. There's one more thing I need to tell you. Don't worry it has nothing to do with what we've been talking about," he assured his son. "I'm having something delivered to the house at the end of this week. Just wanted you to watch out for it. Okay?"

"What is it?" Tenchi asked.

"It's a surprise," his father answered, along with a wink.

His son chuckled at his father's penchant for drama. "Okay, Dad," he said, "We'll watch out for it."

"But don't open it," His father insisted.

It was Ryoko's turn to chuckle, "Don't worry Dad. We won't. Promise."

"Okay, then I'll see you two at the house later."

Letting her mischievous nature get the better of her, Ryoko replied, "Now Dad, there's no need to worry about us. You come home whenever you want. It's not like you have a curfew or anything…" she stated with raised eyebrow and suggestive smile. She was rewarded with a blush from them both.

Tenchi, drolly smiling, took his fiancee's hand and led her away saying "C'mon. You've embarrassed them enough for today."

As she was being gently but firmly ushered away Ryoko shouted "Bye!" giving a quick wave upon departure.

Rea and Nobuyuki, having quickly recovered their composures, waved back until the younger couple disappeared in the distance, around a corner. They stood there, side by side, quietly for a moment or two. It was Rea who finally broke the silence.

"I really like seeing them together," she told him.

"Yeah, they do fit nicely;" Nobuyuki commented. "…he with his calm, sincere demeanor and her with a very Kiyone-like zest for life."

"Do you think he realizes what he's got there with her?" she asked.

"He thinks he does," he offered chuckling.

Rea slowly shook her head, smiling. "That poor, lucky boy."

"Yeah," he agreed with a huge smile.

Another moment passed. Rea smile lessened saying, "You didn't tell him."

Her fiancé shook his head. "No, I didn't."

Rea turned to him with asked, "Are you going to tell him ahead of time?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Her face became serious and she demanded sternly, "Nobuyuki Masaki, don't you dare play with that boy's feelings!"

Feeling her wrath, he cringed. "I wasn't going to let it go on for long, promise. I just wanted to see the expression on his face, and then I was going to tell him."

With arms crossed she rolled her eyes. To no one in particular she stated, "I'm marrying a child…"

Nobuyuki held up open hands at shoulder height, with a half grin, and shrugged.

The 'surprise' that Nobuyuki had promised, was delivered that Friday afternoon. It turned out to be a brand new personal computer that he told them, when he got home, would 'revolutionize' the house and shrine's bookkeeping.

* * *

On Saturday morning, having taken the various boxes upstairs the previous evening, he worked diligently to assemble the device. It, however, was taking more time than he had hoped, but he persevered. The reactionary looks he received from most of the extraterrestrials varied from doubt (Aeka), mild curiosity (Sasami with a sleeping cabbit on her head), downright skepticism (Ryoko), and familiar stoicism (Yosho/Kasuhito). Mihoshi was taking a characteristic nap downstairs at the time. But everyone's attention was actually directed not toward Nobuyuki, but towards Ryoko's mother.

Uncharacteristically, Washu had watched him quietly; neither commenting nor offering him her assistance, with eyes wide and only an occasional "hmmmmm." Tenchi had been patiently studying his future mother-in-law's limited reactions. He looked over at his fiancée, catching her attention and motioning towards Washu with his eyes to see if she had any clue as to her mother's unusually behavior, but she looked back at him and shrugged.

No longer able to quell his curiosity, Tenchi asked, "Uh, Washu. Why are you so intrigued by this?" he asked. "I'm sure an earth computer to you must seem like a stone tablet would to us."

"Oh no, you don't understand the significance of this to someone like me, Tenchi," she corrected him. "The chance to see such primitive and ancient technology in such pristine condition… and being put together by a native... well it's like an archaeologist who discovered an ancient forgotten tomb, untouched by time and the mummy gets up and shows him around." She looked back at Nobuyuki working on the connecting wires inside the computer's open casing. "The historical aspects are fascinating."

Nobuyuki, not sure that he liked being compared to a mummy, moved away from the computer and over to the parts box, in search of the proper connecting cord for the monitor, Washu continuing to look over his shoulder. "Just marvelous," she muttered.

Mihoshi entered the room unnoticed, having just awakened from her nap on the couch downstairs, still a bit groggy, when she spotted an unusual metal box, partly open.

"Oh, what's that?" Washu heard from behind.

She turned her head to in time to see doom approaching; it was wearing the beautiful guise of a kindhearted Galaxy Police detective. She had an almost vacant curious look on her face, the look that Washu most feared, the look she literally had nightmares about in the past, and Mihoshi was headed straight for the vulnerable personal computer lying open before her.

Time seemed to move at a snail's pace to Washu, as she realized that the young woman was going to get to her target before she could stop her. Suddenly, as the wide-eyed blonde reached out towards the helpless primitive technology, the front door chimes downstairs sounded. Washu wasted no time with this near impossible stroke of luck: "Mihoshi, would you be a dear and see who that is at the door, please?" she asked in her sweetest voice, wearing her most endearing smile, causing everyone to look back at the now noticed Mihoshi, instantly recognizing the imminent danger she posed.

"Oh, okay, Washu," replied the now bubbly blonde, who stopped, lowered her hand, and turned away. She happily headed out through the door towards the stairs, forgetting all about the PC on her way out of the room.

Washu dropped her head, letting out a huge breath of air. "That was too close," she breathed. Everyone else was still staring at the spot where Mihoshi had just been, all sharing Washu's relief on their faces.

As Mihoshi walked down the stairs the door chimes rang again. "Coming," she replied out loud sweetly in response. Curiously, she thought she heard a slight groan emanate from behind the door in response to her response. She reached the door and opened it. On the other side were three women. Unable to see the woman in the back, she focused (as much as she could do so) on the two in front. She immediately recognized the woman on the right; Airi Magma, the head of the Jurai Sector of the Galaxy Police. Looking left, the other woman she saw, wearing both a Galaxy Police uniform and a sour expression, was…

Upstairs, the rest of the Masaki household heard a jubilant Mihoshi shout from below, a single name:

" _NOIKE!"_


	4. Reunions and Introductions

Chapter 4: _Reunions and Introductions_

The remainder of the Masaki household left the room with the personal computer in response to the commotion at the front door. They stopped at the landing at the top of the stairs, to view the scene below.

Mihoshi had someone, wearing a uniform identical to her familiar GP Detective's garb, in an embrace while laughing and repeating the name "Noike" over and over. Noike, the apparent object of her attention, amazingly seemed firmly set on the ground as Mihoshi continuously jumped up and down. To everyone who looked, it appeared as if she was holding onto a thoroughly rooted tree while trying to ride a pogo stick. From what little could be seen of Noike's face, she did not seem the least bit amused.

That could not be said of her companion, however. To Mihoshi's right, was another figure in a uniform. The woman, with green hair and lighter green eyes, was giggling at them. A bit older than, but just as pretty as the two women to her right, she had her hand up in front of her mouth in a vain attempt at hiding her amusement.

Ryoko, with her arms folded, standing next to Tenchi, scoffed: "Just what we need... more Galaxy Police."

"More?" Tenchi asked. "You mean they both are?"

His fiancé nodded. "The one being assaulted by Mihoshi is obviously a GP Detective like her. The other one is a senior official of some kind, probably really high up there in the chain of command."

Tenchi look at her curiously. "How do you know that?" he asked.

She grinned at him. "It's always a good idea for a pirate to know the enemy, especially those who might cause you the most trouble," she stated. Looking back at the woman, she added, "Something tells me that facing someone like her would have been quite a challenge."

"Good thing you won't ever have to worry about that anymore," Tenchi offered, smiling. He was very pleased that Ryoko had made peace with the rest of the universe, mostly for the universe's sake.

They were still looking at the newcomers when Tenchi's grandfather passed them and walked steadily down the stairs. The GP senior officer noticed the movement and looked up. Suddenly her expression changed from mirth to elation. She watched him approach, reaching the bottom and then coming over to stop very close to her. He smiled back at her, with a very tender look in his eyes and in a moment, she crossed the short distance to him as he took her in his arms. She snuggled into him, placing her left cheek against his chest, a very blissful expression upon her face.

"Who is she?" Tenchi asked out loud, not really expecting an answer. But he got one, just the same.

"That's Airi Magma, Yosho's wife…" said his fiancé's mother who had moved up next them. You're your grandmother, Tenchi."

"So that's her." He paused a moment to let that sink in, then added, "Dad just told me a little about her the other day. And now she's here. That's quite the coincidence…"

"Yeah, sure it is," Ryoko said sarcastically. She glanced over at Washu. Her mother was looking down at Yosho and Airi, revealing not a trace of emotion. Ryoko watched her as she continued to look at them, the only change to her face when she occasionally blinked.

Up until this point, she had still been very angry at Washu for the little "breakfast incident" the other day. But something was going on here, and whatever that was, it was quickly dissipating her anger towards her 'mad scientist' mother.

 _Damn it,_ she thought. _I wasn't done being pissed at her and now this had to go and happen._ She took a breath and then attempted to contact her mother through their shared link.

" _Washu."_

Silence.

" _Washu."_

Again silence. Ryoko's attempts weren't being blocked. There just was no response.

Finally, she tried; _"Mom…"_

At that Washu turned toward her, still expressionless and replied, _"I thought you were still mad at me."_

Ryoko scowled, _"I am still mad at you damn it! But…"_ The scowl disappeared, replaced with a look of concern. _"Are… are you alright?"_

Washu let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. " _It's not what you think Ryoko."_ She motioned her head toward Yosho and his wife. " _I've known about this all along. It's no surprise. Yosho and I are just friends… close friends, but that's all. I'm not jealous, not of her. This just reminds me of something I once had a long time ago. Had and lost. That's all."_

" _Mom, I'm…"_

Washu looked back towards her daughter with a small smile. " _It's okay, Ryoko. Really, I'll be fine."_

Ryoko was silent for a moment and then sent, _"Mom, if you want to talk about it… I guess I'd listen…"_

Washu had a quick look of surprise and then a smile larger than she had before. _"Thank you, little one. Perhaps later…"_ She turned to look at the couple again, this time with a slight smile.

Unaware, as usual, of the two's silent conversation, Tenchi suggested, "I guess we should go down and meet everyone."

"I guess so," his fiancé replied.

"Oh, Tenchi. When you talk to your grandmother, I wouldn't recommend mentioning her age if I were you," suggested Washu.

"Her age?"

"Yeah. Something your grandfather once told me. Just trust me on this one, okay?"

"Okay… if you say so," he said hesitantly.

They started down the stairs. Just before reaching the bottom, a third woman, who had previously gone unnoticed, stepped through the doorway from behind Noike.

To his left, Tenchi heard Ryoko gasp, "Oh my god…"

He turned towards her. She was wide-eyed, disbelief apparent on her face. She looked over to Tenchi as if suddenly out of panic.

"Tenchi…" she said her voice filled with emotion. As he turned to see what had so upset her he heard her say, "No, don't!" As he looked a woman walked up to him.

He froze. He stopped breathing. He stopped thinking. All he could do was look; look at the face he thought he would never see again;

His mother's face.

"Hello Tenchi," she said with a smile.

He finally took another breath, still looking at her incredulously. Unbalanced, he struggled to right the world in his head. He finally broke through his brain's inertia to utter a single word, a word that was both a confused question and a plea filled with unbelievable hope:

"Mom?"

Hearing Tenchi's desperate question and immediately understanding the emotion behind it, the woman quickly threw Nobuyuki a withering glance, causing him to physically start. Her expression again softened as she moved closer to the stricken young man.

"I'm sorry Tenchi, but… but I'm not her…" she said as softly and gently as she could, knowing that this would crush his impossible hopes.

"But you look just like her…" he uttered, choked with emotion, so much in fact, that she momentarily was speechless.

The silence that followed was cut short by Nobuyuki; "Awww. Did you have to tell him so quickly?" He had an obvious look of disappointment on his face.

His "mother" turned toward his father and, with a severe look loudly scolded him: "Dad, don't be such an ass!"

Tenchi blinked a few times. "Dad… Dad?… you called him Dad…"

His father, suitably chastised, and his secret now revealed, confessed: "Tenchi. This is your older sister… Tenyo."

"My sister?"

"Yeah," said Nobuyuki laughing nervously. "I guess I should have come clean about that earlier huh? "Heh, heh, heh… "

Ryoko growled at him furiously through clenched teeth, her shoulders raised, her arms straight down at her sides, balls of energy forming in her open palms… "Anything else you need to 'come clean' about, _Daaaaaddd?"_

Nobuyuki went white as a ghost. "No, no, no, no… I swear!" he quickly stammered.

After maintaining that posture for a few more seconds, Ryoko visibly relaxed, the energy balls in her hands quickly dissipating. She crossed her arms, let out a deep breath, and targeted him with a penetrating stare. "Better not be," she hissed.

 _Wow… so scary…_ he thought.

With the possibility of Nobuyuki's imminent demise no longer an immediate concern, attention shifted back towards the new arrivals, particularly the newly introduced Tenyo Masaki.

"I'm sorry Tenchi this was such a shock. It wasn't supposed to be a surprise," she said, throwing another stern look briefly toward her father, who quickly avoided her gaze and began backing away slowly from the three of them. "Anyway I'm still hoping it can be a happy reunion. It's been such a long time since I've seen you."

Tenyo walked up to her brother and looked him over. "Last time I saw you, you were only 4 years old. Now look at you! You've grown up to be such a handsome young man."

Tenchi blushed slightly at her appraisal. Ryoko came up next to him and happily wrapped her arms around his left arm.

"And I hear you've gotten engaged," she added looking at the two of them. "You've really grown up."

"Uh… Tenyo. This is Ryoko. My fiancé." He turned to the woman on his arm. "Ryoko this is…" he smiled. "… this is my sister… Tenyo."

"Nice to meet you," said Ryoko.

Tenyo gave a little laugh. "We've met before. You just didn't know it, at the time."

"Huh?" the ex-space pirate replied.

"Yes, when Tenchi was a baby, I'd sometimes stand in for Mom and take him down to the cave. I'd watch you how you reacted to him. I could tell you cared for him very much. It was really very sweet."

Now it was Ryoko's turn to blush as well. This only made Tenyo laugh that much more.

"Look at you two. You really are quite the pair," Tenyo said happily. "Tell me. Have you guys set a date yet?"

Tenchi and Ryoko glanced at each other quizzically. "We haven't really talked about a specific date yet," he admitted as Ryoko also slightly shook her head.

"Oh," Tenyo replied a bit surprised. "I guess there's no hurry." Then she added, "When you do, you must let me know. I'll gladly help out with anything I can."

She smiled at Ryoko. "After all, I'll be getting a little sister too." Her smile got even larger at the prospect, her eyes closing

Ryoko, taken aback by the comment for a moment, smiled back. Without saying a word to each other both she and Tenchi thought that it a good idea, at least for the moment, not to mentions Ryoko's age to her soon to be new "big sister."

"Tenyo?" Tenchi asked.

She opened her eyes and responded, with a gleam in her eye, "Yes, little brother?"

"Um… I have about a million questions to ask you," he answered, his demeanor reminding her so much of when he was a little boy that it caused a lump in her throat.

"Tenchi," she said softly. "I know, and I'll be happy to answer any question I can. I'll be here for quite a while and we'll have plenty of time to talk about anything and everything. I promise." Then she turned her gaze and her head toward Nobuyuki, her expression becoming less friendly. "But right now I think I need to have a word or two with Dad."

Her father's eyes went wide as he thought; _I recognize that look… that's the same look Kiyone would give me anytime I was in deep, deep trouble._

He started to shake, just a bit.

 _This is not good…_

"Excuse me," she said and started to make her way toward their father.

Tenchi and Ryoko watched silently as she left and approached Nobuyuki, who looked like he was ready to request a blindfold at any moment…

"I almost feel sorry for him." Ryoko said, but her grin revealed her true feelings as she added, "Almost."

They watched as Tenyo spoke to her father in a definite one-sided conversation; leaning into him, one hand on her hip, the other right in front of his face, shaking her finger at him. Even though they couldn't quite make out her words, their impact seemed to strike Nobuyuki like repeated blows from a sledge hammer. At one point she even grabbed him by the ear, causing tears to stream down his face, as she continued to lecture him. They could tell that the conversation had nearly ended when she released her hold and his chin dropped down to his chest in shame. He nodded to her, in apparent surrender.

Ryoko, quite amused by the confrontation looked over at Tenchi. She saw that he had a very nostalgic look on his face. "Tenchi, what is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "But this looks strangely familiar… like something I saw a long time ago."

"Oh, well maybe you can ask your grandfather. He might be able to shed some light on it," she offered. She looked around but Yosho was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Airi. She thought to herself, _I wonder where they…_ Then a slight grin appeared on her lips. _I get it._

"Where'd Grampa and Grandma go?" He asked upon also discovering their absence. "Maybe we should go find them."

"I don't think that would be a good idea right now, Tenchi." Ryoko advised.

"Why not?" he asked innocently.

Ryoko sighed, "My sweet Tenchi." _Sometimes I forget how naïve you can still be, at times like this._

She tried to patiently explain, "They haven't seen each other in a very long time."

"Yeah…" he said, still not quite catching on.

She'd have to spell it out for him, to lead him by the hand, sort of speak. "Tenchi, you and I have gotten really close, closer to each other than we've ever been, right?"

"Of course we have; we love each other and we're getting married," he answered sincerely.

"Now imagine we got separated and didn't see each other for over many years, let's say," she postulated. "What do you think is the first thing we'd do when we were finally able to get back together?"

Somewhat embarrassed, he started to say quietly, "Well, with the way you and I are now we'd probably…" And then it hit him. His cheeks instantly became flushed.

"You don't mean that they're…" he didn't need to finish that question as her smirk clearly provided the answer.

He gulped. "Í guess we shouldn't bother them for a while…"

"A long while I imagine." She smiled with a bit of a blush herself.

He cringed and held his hands up, "Let's not go there, okay? I don't want to think about my grandparents in that way. I'm not ready for that. I may never be."

Ryoko laughed, "Oh my Tenchi. You're so adorable."

Aeka and Sasami walked up as Ryoko was laughing.

"What's so funny?" the older princess asked with a jovial air.

"Oh nothing really," Ryoko replied. "Just Tenchi being Tenchi."

Taking advantage of the princesses' appearance to attempt to change the subject, Tenchi asked, "Is something going on?"

"Sasami wants to make something special in celebration of our visitors' arrival and to do that she needs someone to go to the store for her," Aeka told them. "I said that I would go but I need a way there."

"I can pop us over to the Yamada's store and back no problem," her pirate best friend suggested.

"I was thinking of a more conventional means of transportation like Yosho's truck or Nobuyuki's automobile," Aeka responded. "And besides, I imagine that you would prefer staying here with Lord Tenchi, what with our guests and all. Am I right?"

"Yeah, you're right about that," Ryoko admitted. "Thought I'd at least offer."

"And I do appreciate it," her friend said.

"Yosho's not an option at the moment," Ryoko said cryptically with a little grin.

"Oh, he isn't?" the princess asked.

"Umm… not at the moment." Tenchi assured her. "So that leaves…"

"I volunteer!" Nobuyuki said a little too loudly as he returned to the group. Tenyo was still back where they had spoken looking at him judgmentally, with her arms crossed. Ryoko adopted the same posture and expression as well. He decided to keep a 'respectful' distance from his future daughter-in-law as well as avoid her piercing gaze.

"If you're ready we can go right now," he insisted. "No time like the present." _Come on,_ he thought. _I'd rather be anywhere else but here right now!_

"But I haven't even gotten the list together yet," explained Sasami.

"Oh, okay… right," he stammered. "Then I guess I'll just wait for you out in the car, Princess…" He left for the door, nearly running after briefly glancing back at both Tenyo and Ryoko.

As Nobuyuki departed, Aeka turned toward her pirate friend. "Honestly Ryoko. Do you always have to do your best to intimidate people" she admonished.

"No… I don't _**have to**_ …" her friend replied with an almost casual grin, emphasizing her last two words. This caused Sasami to giggle slightly.

The elder princess sighed and shook her head. "Why do I even bother? Come on Sasami; let us go get that list together."

"Okay," responded her little sister and they headed off into the kitchen.

Tenchi leaned next to Ryoko and said quietly, "About earlier. I understand why you were upset by what he did, but tell me, were you really going to fry my father?"

She chuckled quietly so only he could hear. "Of course not Tenchi. I'd never do such a thing." Then added, "But he doesn't need to know that, now does he?" She looked at him with her head cocked. "Honestly, I'm surprised you even noticed," she admitted. "You did seem to be rather distracted at the time."

"I certainly was that," he agreed, "But not enough not to miss my father's impending doom at the hands of my fiancé," he explained with a wry grin. "You know, there are other ways to get someone's attention other than threatening to blast them to tiny bits."

"Sometimes it's the only way to get a male Masaki to notice" she stated with a wink.

Tenchi smiled as memories of being chased by a certain pirate filled his head. "Whatever am I going to do with you?"

"Mmm, I dunno… Marry me?" she offered.

He chuckled. "I guess there are worse ways to save the world," he teased.

"Well I'm sure the world appreciates it," she said drolly. Then she smiled. "And even if it doesn't, I sure do."

She made her point with a quick gentle kiss.

Tenchi smiled at her as they moved apart. They heard a sigh off to the side; Tenyo was standing there with a very 'big sister" smile on her face.

Slightly embarrassed, Tenchi, nonetheless, offered; "Why don't go say hello to Mihoshi's friend?"

"You mean why don't we go rescue her from Mihoshi?" Ryoko corrected. Tenyo giggled in response.

They all three moved towards the still bouncing blond and her victim/former partner.

* * *

Aeka, sitting in the passenger's seat, looked out at the passing landscape. She enjoyed riding in Nobuyuki's car. It was unlike the personal conveyances she had known on Jurai. The vehicles found on her home world were literally thousands of years more advance than this simple machine; it was slow, manually controlled, and didn't fly or even hover. But that was exactly what she liked about it; its simplicity. She could easily see a variety of sights as they traveled down the road; homes, trees, flowers and even people. One could not see such things as clearly, high in the sky at speeds several hundreds of times faster than this vehicle could even attempt. She liked the feel of the road, with its curves and yes, even its bumps. She so enjoyed it that, in the past, she considered asking if she could be taught how to drive, but she would inevitably talk herself out of it, telling herself it was not proper; not something a Princess of Jurai should do. Lately, though, she seemed to be less and less concerned, in private at least, of her definition of propriety. She was changing, had changed, she realized, but she didn't know yet if that was a good or a bad thing.

The car slowed as it entered the town, soon coming to a stop as Nobuyuki parked in front of the Yamada's store. It was a small local shop, owned by the parents of a younger friend of Tenchi's. Upon exiting the car, she once again reviewed the list as she approached the front door. Stopping at the entrance, she glanced over at Nobuyuki, whom she noticed, looked rather sullen.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He stopped and looked back with a worried expression. "I think Ryoko is very upset with me… and it makes my kind of nervous."

The princess smiled at him. "I don't think you have anything to really worry about. She likes to bluster about at times, but inside she has a very big heart. Although," she admitted,"it took me quite a while to realize it." She chuckled.

"I don't know… she seemed really mad at me… not that I blame her. I was rather childish and selfish, after all," he confessed, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, perhaps you could make a peace offering?" she suggested.

"Peace offering?"

"She is rather fond of sake after all…" she proposed.

At that, his expression instantly changed and he adopted a big smile. "What a great idea, Princess!" he exclaimed. "It should be a bottle of the good stuff too, not just the regular brand. I know exactly which one. It's at a store a couple of blocks from here. I'll be right back."

He took off down the road, almost running. She chuckled again, turned and opened the door to the shop. A bell chimed as she entered. Mrs. Yamada was behind the counter and looked up as she approached. "Hello Miss Aeka. We haven't seen you here in a while. Welcome back to our shop."

The princess bowed in greeting. "Thank you, it is nice to see you again."

"I hope everyone is well at home?" Mrs. Yamada inquired, referring to the Masaki household.

"Everyone is fine. Thank you." Aeka answered. "As a matter of fact, we have a few guests visiting from… out of town, which is why I am here today. I am picking up a few things for a special welcome dinner."

"That sounds so nice. I love it when we have guests." Then she made a somewhat serious face. "You might want to hurry with your shopping though… Seina should be home from school any minute."

Aeka's eyes widened slightly at the implication of the boy showing up at any time… without warning… with all the potential impact of a much localized earthquake, flood, or some other natural disaster. Since Seina was born, his presence would invariably lead to extreme misfortune befalling him and others around him. Things would suddenly fall apart; cars would mysteriously run out of gas; people would trip over absolutely nothing at all.

If Mihoshi was seen as the epitome of good luck, Seina was the patron saint of bad luck.

Even though his "curse" had never directly affected anyone of the Masaki household, Aeka didn't feel that particularly keen on tempting fate. She decided to acquire the required items as rapidly as possible.

"Thank you," she said, quickly bowing once again and hurrying over to the shelves picking up a small basket along the way. As she moved between the shelves, choosing her items, she heard the door chime again. She looked around the corner of a shelf to see if was Seina, but instead she briefly glimpsed a figure enter who was much taller than the boy would have been. She breathed a small sigh of relief and returned to her task.

She soon acquired all the requested things on the list except the final item; a large bag of rice. There appeared to be only one left, and it was located at the back of the top shelf. On her tiptoes, she managed to grab a hold of the bag and began to pull it to the front of the shelf. Just as she was about to bring it down, she heard a large crash just outside the store, startling her and causing her to lose her grip. The bag fell toward her as she ducked and yelped simultaneously awaiting the inevitable impact.

It did not come.

She slowly glanced up to determine what had happened. She saw a pair of arms outstretched, two hands holding the bag about a half meter above her head. The arms owner appeared to be a young man. He moved the bag from above her and stepped back.

"That was a close one," he said with a smile. "Good thing I came in to grab a couple of things today."

She stood up and looked at the young man. He was quite attractive, with auburn hair and brown eyes, seemingly flecked with purple and gold. His gaze seemed rather intensive, but also rather friendly and open; she felt herself slightly blush beneath it.

She rapidly regained her composure. "Yes it seems I was rather fortunate that you were here,"she agreed. "Thank you." She smiled in appreciation.

"You're very welcome, Miss… ?"

He obviously wanted to know her name, she realized. She also realized that she didn't mind telling him.

"My name is Aeka."

"Aeka… that's an unusual name… I like it. I've never saved a girl named Aeka before." He joked.

"No?" she asked, in the spirit of the jest. "Do you often save girls then?"

"Sure, all the time" he quipped. "Especially the pretty ones." His smile broadened.

She blushed at the inferred compliment. Once again trying to regain her composure she asked, "So may I ask the name of my savior?"

"I'm sorry. I haven't properly introduced myself yet." He looked into her eyes. "My name is Kazuki Izakawa," he said.

"But most people just call me Z…"


End file.
